A Democrat in Alabama watches helplessly as Russian internet bots play dirty with the 2016 election. But a year later, those same tactics inspire him to organize an election conspiracy of his own. Producer Ben Calhoun has the story.

Host Ira Glass talks with Ben Calhoun about how Democrats are furiously trying to retake New York’s 19th congressional district. The sitting Republican is considered very vulnerable, and has been the subject of weekly protests that even have a house band.

When Jeff Beals learned who was going to run in the Democratic primary for NY-19, he was disappointed. Beals, a progressive, thought the Democrats jumping in were conventional candidates, ones who embodied what he thinks is a failed strategy for his party: raising lots of money from big donors and lobbyists, and buying TV ads.

Before the war in the East Ramapo, New York school district, there was a truce. Local school officials made a deal with their Hasidic and ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighbors: we'll leave you alone to teach your children in private yeshivas as you see fit as long as you allow our public school budget to pass.

By early October, it's been pretty quiet at Harper, as far as gun violence goes. But on the day before the homecoming game, during a pep rally, a senior named Damoni who is both on the football team and nominated for Homecoming King, gets word that a good friend of his, James, has been shot.

Producer Ben Calhoun heads to his home state of Wisconsin, a place currently turned against itself in the form of Senate recall elections. Ben found that the old way of doing politics in Wisconsin has been flipped completely upside down.

Rich Carlson and Tom Swenor, two best friends in Michigan, got so fed up with the political process in the country, they decided to form their own Tea Party chapter in Petoskey, Michigan. But as election season revved up and push came to shove, Rich and Tom had very different ideas about how to advance a conservative agenda.